Faint Reality
by Dexteria
Summary: It's been a long pleasant trip down the rabbithole. As they fall further, they wonder if they would ever wake up from each other's arms. Is this too perfect? Or is this truly reality? [ShikaTema][One Shot]


'Allo again, readers.

Very pleased with the amount of viewers of my last two Suna stories, so I guess I'll continue. Thanks so much for the reviews.

Alright, here's the deal. I won't be doing chapter stories, but I'll be doing tidbits of the ShikaTema story in different stories. I guess you can say that **Complications** is the main story to base off all the little stories, unless said so. So, I apologize if you're waiting for chapters from the stories or what not, because there will not be any.

This part probably takes place a couple of monthsafter Temari receives the command to be married.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. A talented Japanese manga-ka by the name of Masashi Kishimoto does.

Enjoy.

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_Tap tap tap._

Temari jumped up from her unstable seat on the roof, startled at the sound. For a split second, her concentration broke as her feet lost their chakra footing on the slippery slope, sending her on a downward crash course. Suddenly, a strong hand grabbed her own, pulling her to a sudden stop.

"Oi! Pay attention, woman!"

Temari's concentration immediately returned to her, as chakra returned to the bottom of her sandals, stabilizing her position. Releasing the hand that held her, she turned around slowly to face the open window where the familiar low voice had come from. Her eyes slightly squinted past her rain-drenched bangs and through the drizzle of the rain. It took her a second before she was able to see him.

"Idiot! You're the one that almost made me fall!"

She couldn't help but to look at him fully. His face was framed by strands of loosely arranged neck-length black hair, a rare look that contrasted with the usual high-tied ponytail. Dark eyes, black clothing, and the mesh that crept out from under his sleeves completed the dark ensemble. He looked at her with his thin lips molded into his trademark frown.

"You're getting more and more careless for a renowned kunoichi." He looked at her wet and untidy state. "I have a front door, you know."

Temari returned the frown with her own, her trance broken by his words. "Yeah, I know. I just like to make an entrance."

She had originally wanted to sneak in through his bedroom window, but then became hesitant to go in. She finally decided to sit on the roof that surrounded the window as her thoughts preoccupied her mind, as it usually did these days. The rain had come down around her unnoticed. So did his sudden presence.

Shikamaru sighed and grabbed her hand to pull her inside, his mouth creasing into a deeper frown as he felt how cold the rest of her body was. "Some entrance," he mumbled, as he closed the window behind her.

Temari sat down on the bed that was just under the window. It was the closeness of his body that revived her frozen state of mind. Holding back the urge just push him against a wall to kiss away the frown looming on his face, Temari, instead, brought his hand up to her face. The warmth of his hand sent shivers down her spine as it made an impressionable contact with her cheek.

"Cold?" He sat down beside her as his other hand reached up to touch her cheek.

She nodded and placed a hand on his chest, feeling the warmth radiating from it. Her entire body followed suit as she leaned forward against him, her face buried against his chest, her eyes closed and the beating of his heart pounded softly in her ears.

Shikamaru looked down at her, not quite sure of what to say, except to wrap his arms around her as he had always done to comfort her during these strange silent moments of hers.

It went without saying that their relationship was a strange one. The entire relationship was driven by lust and a tentative amount of intimacy. Both sides were cautious in giving too much. You could not give assurances or promises that would be kept once you went off on missions. Death knew no such thing as vows or bonds.

But recently, the amount of intimacy grew from both sides, unchecked.

It was both equally satisfying and terrifying at the same time. The rare gentle kisses from her were accompanied by sighs and the light stroking of fingertips against their faces. Himself, he had always been gentle in contrast to her harsh demanding lust. However, once she left Konoha for Suna, the building ache in his heart could not be physically portrayed as gentle.

He wanted her. She as much as him.

When the continuous exchanges of kisses warranted breathing, abrupt moments of silence would occur, bringing their minds into a conscious state of reality once more. Neither of them wanted to stop, but neither of them wanted to promise each other things that could not be kept.

It was in these moments that they held on to each other, not knowing what would happen tomorrow. Nor the day after. Nor the week after. All they had was each other in this moment.

In terms of reality, as faint as it might be, that was real enough.


End file.
